Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has slammed the inclusion of weapons manufacturer BAE Systems in Supply Nation's Leadership Roundtable.
BAE Systems supplies weapons to the Israeli government, members of which are currently subject to International Criminal Court arrest warrants for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The company is also a finalist for Supply Nation's 'Corporate Member of the Year' Award which will be announced at the Connect Conference in Sydney in August.
Supply Nation is a non-profit organisation that aims to grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business sector through the promotion of supplier diversity, and operates a major database of verified Indigenous businesses: search by business name, product, service, area, or category.
Senator Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman representing Victoria in the Senate, told National Indigenous Times/Indigenous Business Review it is "completely inappropriate and offensive for weapons manufacturers that profit from genocide and global conflict to hold leadership roles in Indigenous business spaces".
"These companies have nothing to teach us. Their involvement is not about reconciliation — it's about reputation laundering. They use paternalistic and performative Reconciliation Action Plans to black-clad their role in ongoing violence, including the genocide in Gaza," she said.
"You cannot claim to "advance reconciliation" while arming the destruction of other communities abroad."
Senator Thorpe said weapons companies like BAE Systems have no place on a leadership roundtable for Indigenous business and their participation is "an insult to the communities that continue to resist militarisation and state violence".
"They do not represent our values. They profit from war, and we will not allow them to co-opt our movements or use our people to clean up their image," she said.
"It sends a dangerous and deeply disrespectful message — that our resistance, our values, and our sovereignty can be sidelined for corporate interests.
"First Nations people have always resisted militarisation and state violence. Our communities will not be used as a smokescreen for companies that profit from that very violence."
The senator vowed to organise protests and community rallies if Supply Nation "continues to facilitate a 'leadership' body that includes weapons manufacturers, mining companies and private prison operators".
BAE Systems is a key partner in the F-35 fighter jet program, manufacturing approximately 15 per cent of each aircraft, including critical components such as the rear fuselage and electronic systems. The Israeli Air Force operates F-35s, which have been deployed in airstrikes over Gaza.
BAE Systems has supplied Israel with various military technologies, including: Electronic missile launching kits and gunsight technology for F-16 aircraft and components for 155mm artillery shells, which have been used by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza operations.
National Indigenous Times asked Supply Nation if the organisation can justify the inclusion of BAE Systems; whether Supply Nation considers there to be any ethical conflict in partnering with a weapons manufacturer that profits from weapons contracts while many Indigenous communities continue to suffer intergenerational trauma caused by state-sanctioned violence; and how much funding or sponsorship BAE Systems has provided to Supply Nation.
While Supply Nation did not directly answer these questions, a spokesperson said members of the newly launched Roundtable "were chosen through a process of consultation, development of selection criteria, Expression of Interest (EOI), and a robust governance framework".
"Supply Nation's membership fees for corporate and government members are transparent and clearly stated on our website," they said.
"Supply Nation's sponsors and partners supporting our business events and tradeshows are always made public and available on our website."